I’ve got a full weekend planned. Besides for a few hours today, I’m not going to have time expound this or the waiver wire article. I’ll see if I can sneak away for Sunday’s chat while still taking care of my own teams. So for this article, I didn’t add many player stats and just focused on major changes. I’m now going to try to at least get a Waiver Wire rankings out.

American League

Angels

• Justin Upton has hit leadoff in the last four games.

• David Fletcher is batting ninth.

• Drew Butera has started five of the last seven games at catcher.

• Juan Lagaras is playing everyday and hitting in the middle of the lineup.

• Jo Adell is making strides to get promoted.

Angels GM Perry Minasian on minor league slugger Jo Adell "He's making some strides. He's not there yet."

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) May 26, 2021

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• Some teams may save their high strikeout pitcher for extra innings to help mitigate the extra runner.

There might not be a reliever better equipped to handle the runner-on-second-in-extra-innings rule than Karinchak, who is averaging nearly two strikeouts per inning this season. Karinchak has allowed only three hits and five walks in 17 1/3 innings, so he has essentially been automatic. His penchant for racking up strikeouts, as demonstrated Wednesday, allows the Indians to wiggle out of those artificial jams in extras.

And because of that, it made more sense for manager Terry Francona to summon Clase to keep the Cubs quiet in the top of the ninth. Clase strikes out a batter per inning and doesn’t issue many walks, but because he so often forces hitters into weak contact, usually on the ground, with his 100 mph cutter, teams need to string together a few hits or benefit from a defensive gaffe to scratch across a run against him. With a runner on second to start the inning, that endeavor would become much more attainable.

As of now, I’m not sure if this applies to any bullpen but the Indians. I’ve got too much on my plate to investigate, but it might be worth those managers in deeper leagues (e.g. Only’s) to find the few examples and roster these second closers for the potential Wins and Saves. Read the rest of this entry »

• It’s going to harder for players to be promoted from AA to the major than from AAA.

One other note: As The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported, it will be more difficult for Double-A players to go directly to the majors this year. Triple-A players, operating under similar health and safety protocols as big leaguers, have a clear path to promotion. Double-A players would need to undergo extra steps, including a quarantine period and intake testing.

This news comes into play with Adalberto Mondesi who is in AA. If the information from Rosenthal is true, Mondesi must be a ways off from joining the Royals. Read the rest of this entry »

American League

Angels

• With Pujols being optioned, Jared Walsh can just play first and an outfield spot opens up. Watch the playing time of Taylor Ward and Juan Lagares over the weekend for this open spot.

• José Iglesias (.630 OPS) has moved up to hitting fifth over the last three games.

• Griffin Canning keeps tinkering with his windup.

While Canning presented first-round level production during his days as a Bruin, longtime UCLA head coach John Savage pointed out that Canning would likely alternate between going over his head as he began his windup. Canning has done just that in his short pro career and into his time in the big leagues — once again making the switch to go over his head before his last start. Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone liked last week’s new format, so I’ll keep it going into the season.

American League

Angels

• Consistent.

• David Fletcher has led off every game this year.

• For the time being, Chris Rodriguez will remain in the bullpen.

With his success in long relief, it’s fair to wonder if it would make sense to move Rodriguez to the rotation at some point this season. But considering Rodriguez entered the season having thrown just 9 1/3 innings in the Minors since 2017 due of back issues, the Angels would rather keep him in the bullpen to monitor his innings.

Maddon, however, wouldn’t rule out a move to the rotation in the future.

“He can do either thing, but right now, we’re set at the back end [of the rotation],” Maddon said. “Making him a starter right now would be difficult. He hasn’t pitched a lot of innings. It’s almost like you’d have to build him up three years somehow.

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Today’s article is an experiment that I’d like feedback on. I’m not finding enough information that doesn’t immediately become stale for Mining the News. So, I’m going to take those nuggets and try to combine them with the weekly lineup analysis. I’m not sure if this format will work so just let me know in the comments. Thanks. -Jeff

American League

Angels

• Consistent. Everyone just moved up a slot with Anthony Rendon out.

• With Max Stassi on the IL, Kurt Suzuki (.233/.314/.367) is the regular catcher.

• Jose Rojas (.385 OPS) and Luis Rengifo (.258 OPS) are now splitting time at third base.
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American League

Angels

• Shohei Ohtani’s “weakened lower half” led to some of his struggles last season.

That exact type of pitch flummoxed Ohtani so much last season, when a weakened lower half caused him to bail out of the box constantly and shuffle his feet to the point that manager Joe Maddon joked that a seatbelt should be strapped on him. Opposing pitchers fed Ohtani a steady diet of velocity inside to set up changeups and breaking balls away, knowing that he was struggling to cover the plate.

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American League

Athletics

• A.J. Puk will only work out of the bullpen.

Puk, 25, will work out of the bullpen, providing aid to an exhausted relief corps that worked 16 2/3 innings over the last four days against Houston. The situation was so dire that the A’s even had to call upon rookie outfielder Ka’ai Tom to pitch the ninth inning on Sunday.

I am just not sure if Puk will end up being fantasy relevant this season.

Indians

• Andrés Giménez is expected to be the full-time shortstop …

“Giménez, he’ll be right back in there,” Francona said. “I just want to keep Amed in the lineup today. We’ll be doing some mixing and matching. Amed’s gonna move back and forth a little bit. He’s not just a platoon player, for sure. We’ll make sure we keep everybody to a point where they can be productive.”

… while Amed Rosorio is easing into his outfield role.

If the team is expecting to play Giménez regularly, that means Rosario’s time in center field could be coming soon.

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1. Injuries

Keep track of these banged-up guys over the next couple of days to see if replacements will need to be rostered.

#MLB injuries from opening day:
Rosenthal (OAK) – shoulder
Donaldson (MIN) – hamstring
Senzel (CIN) – shoulder
Dozier (KC) – thumb
Barnes (LAD) – hand
S Sanchez (MIA) – shoulder

— Jesse Morse, MD (@DrJesseMorse) April 2, 2021

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• Every few days, I’ll keep updating these Spring Training velocity readings.

American League

Astros

• Josh James’s (hip) recovery timeframe is between late April to late June.

Astros right-hander Josh James, who was slated to miss the start of the 2021 season after undergoing surgery to repair a labral tear in his left hip in October, had a “physical setback,” Baker said Wednesday. The manager didn’t divulge details but said James would be “fine in a few days.”
…
The recovery time for James’ procedure is approximately six to eight months, the team said previously. A sixth-month recovery would take James into late April, while an eight-month recovery would stretch into late June.

I’m not even sure James is worth drafting-and-IL-stashing. I expect he’ll come back as a reliever and will be immediately dropped. I’d rather spend the draft capital on someone useable.
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